Alex Murdaugh spent more than two years behind bars after he was sentenced to back-to-back life sentences for the murders of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son Paul Murdaugh - until the South Carolina Supreme Court upended the entire case. On May 13, 2026, the state's highest court overturned Alex's murder convictions in a unanimous 5-0 vote and ordered a new trial, ruling that the original proceedings were tainted by "improper external influences" from former county clerk Becky Hill.